Cash-carrier



J. L. BALDWIN.

CASH CARRIER. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 16. I920.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

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UNITED STATES JAMES L. BALDWIN, or cnIcAG iLLrnors.

CASH-CARRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 1921,

Application filed November 16, 1920. Serial No. 424,452.

To all w 7mm it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES L. BALDWIN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cash-Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus employed in stores for the transportation of cash or parcels, the same consisting of an elevated track upon which cash or parcel carriers travel from various sending terminals or stations to a designated receiving station, such as the cashiers department,the bundle wrapping department, etc.

The present invention relates more particularly to the mechanism at the sending terminals or stations, whereby the carriers are elevated to the overhead track and thus started on their way to the receiving Sta-- tion, and it is the object of the invention to provide a novel and improved power-operated elevating means for the carriers.

The object stated is attained by means of a combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that the same may be better understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is an elevation of one of the sending terminals of the apparatus showing the carrier-elevating means; Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of an automatic control mechanism, withoutits housing; Fig. 3 is a plan view of. the parts shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4' is a section on the line 4?4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of an endless belt and certain parts associated therewith. 7

Referring specificallyto the drawing, the sending terminal comprises a table or stand 5 from which track wires 6 and 6 rise to a suitable hei ht for the vertical guidance of the carrier? and its thrower or elevator 8. The wires 6 and 6 are secured to the table top, and. also to a ceiling-hanger 9, and a curvedcontinuation 6", of the wire 6 leads to the main over head track 6 along which the carrier is adapted to travel to its destination. The curved track portion 6 is provided with the usual guard rail 6.-

The elevator 8 has wheels 10 traveling on the wire 6, and a guide fork l1 engaging the wire 6, and when the elevator. down in its normal inactive position, the guide fork engages a buffer spring 12 rising from:

the table 5. The elevator does not differ materially in structure from the one disclosed in Patent ,N 0. 1,207,677, date Dec. 5,

1 1916,- except that it is provided with detent 13 which is pivoted transversely at 1 1. The detent 13 has a laterally extending arm 15 projecting over to an endless belt 17 fitted with a buttonor similar abutment 22 which is engageable with the arm '15. The detent 13 also has a finger 16 extending to the carrier 7 over the lower pulley thereof. On the ascent of the carrier 7 and the elevator 8, when the former reaches the curve 6 it becomes disengaged from the finger 16, and the elevator 8 remains in elevated position. On the return of the carrier it again meets the elevator and is engaged by the finger 16, and the carrier and elevator then descend together closely coupled and without rattle. V

The driving means for the elevator 8 is the belt 17, the same being trained over a swiveled pulley 18 carried by thehanger 9, and a bottom pulley 19 on the shaft of an electric motor 20. It will therefore be seen that the belt is set in motion when the motor is running. The motor circuit is controlled by a switch 21 having the usual on and off buttons so connected that when. one button is pushed in, the other button moves outwardly, and vice versa. The on switch button is shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 4: in order not to obscure other parts in said views. v

On the belt 17 is a tapered coil spring stopper 21 and the abutment 22 hereinbeforereferred to, the latterheing designed to pick up the elevator 8 by its engagement abutment22 upwardly, the elvator 8 will be made to travel in the same direction to elevate the carrier 7. At the same time, the

spring 21 descends and enters a hole 21 in V the table 5, and as the spring wedges in this hole it will distend and act to cushion the stop of the belt. The current of the motor 20 will in the mean time have been turned off by the mechanism which will now be described. 1 a

Referring to Figs. 2, 3 and l, a base plate 23 is secured on the table 5 adjacent to the switch buttons. In line with the front run of the belt 17 and on opposite sides of the hole 21, are two vertically positioned jaws 24 and 24 the former being stationary and the latter movable, betweenwhich jaws the spring 21 is adapted to" passto separate the movable jaw from the stationaiy one, which latter is integral with the base plate 23. The jaw 24 is on one arm of a bell-crank lever 25 pivoted at 26 and forced by a torsion spring 27 in a direction to normally close the jaw 24s against the j aw 24;.

Coacting with the bell-crank'lever 25 1s a rocker arm 28 fulcrumed to cars 29 on the base plate-23 and having a. finger 30 overhanging the off switch button. A spring 31 engages the rear end of the rocker arm 28 and swings the same to hold the finger 30 in contact with the off switch button. The spring 31 has sufficient tension to press in the off button when the arm 28 is released. The rear portion of the rocker arm 28 has two laterally projecting lugs 32 and 33, the same being spaced vertically as well as laterally as shown in Figs. 3 and 4;. The bellcrank lever 25 has a terminal portion provided with a. rearward bevel as shown 1n Fig. 4.

The last described assembly of parts is intended to open the circuit of the motor 20 automatically as the predetermined impulse stroke of the belt 17 is ended, and also to prevent running of the belt and the motor after the carrier 7 has been elevated. All that the attendant at the station hasto do is to press the on button, to start the motor 20 and set the belt 17 in motion, after which the mechanism operates as follows: I

The off switch button is depressed by the rocker arm .28 through the spring 31 when the rocker arm is released. The rocker arm 28 is therefore a switch actuator, and it is held by the'bell-crank lever 25, the latter therefore serving as a detent. When rocker arm depressesthe off button, the on button rises. Upon depressing {the on button, the off button rises and swings the rocker arm 28 back against the tension of the spring 31, whereupon the detent 25 is swung by its spring 27 in a direc tion to bring its terminal portion 34 above the lug 33, so that the arm is now locked in retractedposition. The detent 25 can swing in this manner for the reason that there is at this time nothing between the jaws 21 and 24 to prevent the movement of the latter toward the former. The motor circuit having been closed by pushing in the on button as? stated, the belt 17 is set in-motion to elevatethe carrier 7 through the elevator or thrower 8, the abutment 22 going up and thesp'rin'g 21 going down. By the' time the elevator 8 has reached the require'd'lim'it-o'f time the terminal 24 comes beneath the lug 32, with the result that the actuator 28 is locked in its downward position, and the on button cannot be pressed as the off button cannot rise. l l 'hen the carrier? returns and meets the elevator 8 now positioned at the top of wire 6*, the parts descend the wire 6 by gravity and cause the belt 17 to travel in the opposite direction it is driven by the motor 20, so that now the abutment 22 descends and the spring 21 ascends. As the spring 21 leaves the jaws 2e and 25, the detent 25 is released and its spring 27 swings it in a direction ,to move the terminal 34; from the lug 32 to the lug 33, thereby releasing the actuator 28 for the next operation.

The automatic control mechanism is inclosed in a small box or housing 35 to protect it from injury or handling by unskilled persons, the top and front walls of the box being perforated to permit the passage of the front run of the belt and the issue of the finger 30, respectively, as shown at 36 in the latter instance.

I claim:

1 In an apparatus of the character described, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to the elevating means, a switch mechanism controlling the circuit of the motor, and means for automatically operating the switch mechanism to open the motor circuit at the end of the working stroke of the elevating means.

2. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to the elevating means,a switch controlling the circuit of the motor,a switch actuating means for opening the motor circuit, and controlling means for said actuating means for tim-' ing the operation thereof. i v

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to the elevating means, a switch controlling the circuit of the motor, a switch actuating means for opening the motor circuit, and automatically operating controlling means for said actuatin means for the effecting the opening of t e motor circuit at the end of the working stroke of the elevating means.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to the elevating means a switch controlling the circuit of the motor, a switch actuating means for opening the motor circuit, controlling means for said actuating means, and means on the belt for timing the operation of the controlling means.

5'. In an apparatus of the character described, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to. the elevating means, a switch controlling the circuit of the motor, a switch actuator for opening the motor circuit, a detent for holding the actuator in inoperative position, and means for disengaging the detent at the end of the working stroke of the elevating means.

.6. In an apparatus of the character described, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to the elevating means, a switch controlling the circuit of the motor, a switch actuator for open ing the motor circuit, a detent for holding the actuator in inoperative position, and means for automatically disengaging the de tent at the end of the working stroke of the elevating means.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to the elevating means, a switch controlling the circuit of the motor, a switch actuator for opening the motor circuit, a detent for holding the actuator. in inoperative position, and means on the belt for automatically disengaging the detent at the end of the working stroke of the elevating means.

8. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, a carrier, elevating means for the carrier, an endless belt, a driving connection between the belt and the elevating means, an electric motor for driving the belt in a direction to impart a working stroke to the elevating means, the belt being driven in a reverse direction by the return stroke of the elevating means, a switch controlling the circuit of the motor, a switch actuator for opening the motor circuit, a detent for holding the actuator in inoperative position, means on the belt for automatically disengaging the detent at the end of the working stroke of the elevating means and. means for locking the detent in disengaged position, said locking means being operated by the reverse motion of the belt to release the detent.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JAMES L. BA LDWIN. 

